Portland, OR.- Albertina Kerr’s Children’s Developmental Health Services is a resource in Portland for children with developmental delays and disabilities which employs four Developmental Behavioral Pediatricians, a doctorate-level psychologist, social workers, occupational therapists and speech language pathologists and provides team-based, coordinated care for children with developmental delays and disabilities.
We know the need for more programs and services to support Oregon families who have loved ones with developmental disabilities is real. To address the need for more programs and services in Oregon, we have formed a group of stakeholders whose goal is to create innovative ways to improve access to care for children with disabilities. One result of this groups’ efforts was a six month pilot tele-mentoring project with The Children’s Clinic which focused on improving health care for children with disabilities. There were two components to this project. First, each child was seen by a multi-disciplinary team chosen based on the child’s specific areas of challenge and the family’s treatment goals. This team met regularly to create coordinated care plans which allowed us to provide necessary care at the appropriate time and provide support to the child’s family as needed to achieve success. Second, Children’s Developmental Health Services specialists coordinated consultation sessions with primary care providers to improve their comfort and competency in identifying and treating children in their practice with developmental delays and disabilities. These sessions allowed families to receive earlier diagnoses, avoid unnecessary referrals, and reduce long wait times for specialist appointments.
When a parent has an immediate need for their child, a wait time of 8 to fourteen months for an appointment with a doctor for treatment can feel like an eternity. Children’s Developmental Health Services is scheduling our appointments in September or October, only two to three months out because we have two new Developmental Behavioral Pediatricians taking new families. We sometimes have immediate evaluation openings due to emergency situations where families have to cancel appointments; therefore, we keep a list of families who are flexible to fill those spots.
We work as a team to best meet the needs of the families we serve. Specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of developmental delays and disabilities, our pediatric team provides evaluation and ongoing case management for children with communication disorders, ADHD, autism, behavioral issues, developmental delays, motor delays and sensory processing disorder and other issues which affect a child’s ability to engage effectively with their family and the environment.
Our entire staff embodies the principles of transdisciplinary care from the outset of the family’s referral to our services; in doing so, we continually learn how to use a support network to provide comprehensive care, collaborate with primary care and special education school facilitators, while addressing social and environmental determinants of health that all families face.
Families often end up on numerous waitlists. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Providence, OHSU, Coordinated Care Organization’s and others to help streamline and enhance the health care experience of families in the Portland area and Oregon.
